LESSONS IN 
COMPOSITION 




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Book , ,3 & ^7- 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



LESSONS IN 
COMPOSITION 

PREPARED TO ACCOMPANY 

A MODERN ENGLISH GRAMMAR 



BY 

HUBER GRAY BUEHLER 

If 

HEADMASTER OF THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL; AUTHOR OF u MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS ' 
AND "PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN ENGLISH" 



NEWSON & COMPANY 

EIGHTEEN EAST SEVENTEENTH STREET, NEW YORK 






SEP 8 1906 
fiepyriglil Oifty 




Copyright, 1906, by 
Newson & Company 



o 

J 



PART III 

LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 



TO THE TEACHER 

These Lessons in Composition are intended to 
provide an outline of constructive work in English 
for the last two years of the elementary school. The 
aim has been to gather a body of attractive and typ- 
ical subject-matter, about which pupils will enjoy 
thinking, talking, and writing. This has been 
drawn from three sources : the pupil's own experi- 
ence, English literature, and such school subjects as 
history and geography. Moreover, attention has 
been centered primarily on talking and writing about 
this subject-matter in such a way as to accomplish 
a definite purpose. The mechanical aspects of com- 
position have been kept in the background ; punc- 
tuation and kindred matters, as ends in themselves, 
are of slight interest to children. Practice in com- 
position to be of any value, must proceed from an 
aim which seems real and worthy to the children 
themselves. When a genuine and intelligent en- 
thusiasm for learning good English is engendered, 
the drudgery of mechanical matters disappears. 
Children are willing to take pains when it appears 
there is something to be gained by doing so. 

The arrangement, it will be observed is analytic, 



296 TO THE TEACHER 

beginning with the whole composition and ending 
with the word. All forms of composition, oral and 
written, including letters, are distributed over the 
three years, though the attention of the pupil is 
called formally to narration and description only. 
The exercises are planned for one or two recitations, 
but may be easily adapted to a larger number. The 
length of time to be spent upon any of the principles 
set forth will depend upon circumstances. A variety 
of practical work is suggested in each section, and it 
is assumed that pupils using the book are also study- 
ing other literary classics than those suggested, to 
which the same principles may be freely applied. 

Emphasis should be laid upon oral composition, 
both for the sake of oral expression, and as a prep- 
aration for writing. Let there be much talking, 
provided only that it be purposeful and well planned. 
The American citizen should be able to think on 
his feet. 

It should be remembered that training in English 
involves the ear. Reading aloud, by both pupils 
and teacher, should be much resorted to as a means 
of ascertaining the qualities of a piece of writing and 
of developing the language sense. 

Although the external forms of composition have 
been kept in the background, it is not intended that 
they shall be overlooked. When the first written 
composition is prepared the pupils should receive 
the necessary directions for writing and folding. 



TO THE TEACHER 297 

They should be required to use white paper, about 
eight by ten inches in size ; to write on one side 
only, with black ink ; to write the title in the middle 
of the first line, underscore it, and leave a double 
space ; to leave a common margin of one inch and 
a paragraph margin of two ; to read their themes 
carefully before handing them in to see that there 
are no mistakes in spelling, capitals, or punctuation ; 
and, finally, to number each page, fold the whole 
lengthwise, and, with the crease lying to the left, in- 
dorse near the top with their name, the date, and 
the title. Rules of punctuation will be found at the 
close of the grammar and the forms of letters in 
" Lessons in Language and Literature." 

Every teacher of composition should have at hand 
and use freely some of the many excellent manuals 
of composition now to be had. Among the best of 
these are Thorndike's (Century), Scott's cc Composi- 
tion " & Denney's cc Elementary English Com- 
position/' (Allyn and Bacon), Lewis's " First 
Manual of Composition " and a " First Book in 
Writing English," (Macmillan). For suggestions 
on method and spirit of the work, Chubb's " Teach- 
ing of English " (Macmillan) is invaluable. 



TO THE PUPILS 

You must not think of composition as some 
strange new thing, likely to be both difficult and un- 
interesting. Every pupil who will use this book has 
been composing almost all his life. For composi- 
tion is merely " putting together " your ideas and 
expressing them, and this you have been doing ever 
since you learned to talk. It is only because we do 
not talk or write so well as we should like that we 
study composition. 

There are two respects in which the talking and 
writing of most of us need improvement. Either 
we are not clear or we are not interesting ; and 
very often we are neither. This is because we do 
not know how to think clearly, or to observe 
closely ; or how to put our words into sentences, 
our sentences into paragraphs, or how to arrange our 
paragraphs. We can learn these things if we will 
give our minds to it, try always to make what we 
have to say both clear and interesting, and, above 
all, learn from really good writers how they have 
succeeded where we have failed. 

The following lessons are intended to help you 
learn how to address others so that they will easily 



300 TO THE PUPILS 

understand you and be glad to listen to what you 
have to say. It may seem to you now that learning 
to express your ideas is not of great importance, but 
if you will think a moment you will surely believe 
that it is. Lawyers will tell you that half the law- 
suits occur because people misunderstand one an- 
other. Remember, in the next place, that we do not 
live by ourselves, but in a community, and that if 
we are to have any influence with our neighbors we 
must be able to persuade them to our way of think- 
ing. Moreover, many who study these lessons 
will one day speak from the platform, or write for 
the papers, or compose books ; all will certainly 
write many letters. Doubtless you will be able to 
think of many more reasons for learning to speak 
well and write well — so that you can tell a good 
story, for instance. 

At all events there is another side to the study of 
composition which you must never forget. There 
is no better way to learn how to understand and 
enjoy the good speaking and writing of others than 
by trying to improve your own. No doubt you will 
agree that everyone should be at home in the great 
world of books in which you can travel far and wide 
and meet whom you will. Remember that every 
effort you make to master the art of language is fit- 
ting you to become a good reader, one who under- 
stands and enjoys to the full the best books of every 
kind. 



TO THE PUPILS 301 

Whatever benefit comes to you from studying 
these lessons will come through your own earnest 
efforts. Learn to see with your own eyes, hear 
with your own ears, and think for yourself. The 
interesting books you read were written by men who 
found something interesting where others saw noth- 
ing. Resolve that you will find something worth 
saying or writing every day, and that you will ex- 
press it appropriately. If you will honestly do this, 
you will be both surprised and gratified to note the 
progress you are making in the art of English 
Composition. 



CHAPTER I 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 



Read the following poem : — 
Herve Riel. 



On the sea and at the Kogue, sixteen hundred ninety-two, 

Did the English fight the French, — woe to France! 

And, the thirty-first of May, helter-skelter thro' the blue, 

Like a crowd of frightened porpoises a shoal of sharks pursue, 

Came crowding ship on ship to St. Malo on the Ranee, 

With the English fleet in view. 

II 

'Twas the squadron that escaped, with the victor in full chase; 
First and foremost of the drove, in his great ship, Damfreville; 

Close on him fled, great and small, 

Twenty-two good ships in all; 
And they signalled to the place 
"Help the winners of a race! 

Get us guidance, give us harbor, take us quick — or, quicker still, 
Here's the English can and will!" 

in 

Then the pilots of the place put out brisk and leapt on board; 
"Why, what hope or chance have ships like these to pass?" 
laughed they: 
"Rocks to starboard, rocks to port, all the passage scarred and scored, 



304 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

Shall the Formidable here, with her twelve and eighty guns 

Think to make the river-mouth by the single narrow way, 
Trust to enter where 'tis ticklish for a craft of twenty tons, 
And with flow at full beside? 
Now 'tis slackest ebb of tide. 
Reach the mooring? Rather say, 
While rock stands or water runs, 
Not a ship will leave the bay!" 

IV 

Then was called a council straight. 

Brief and bitter the debate: 

" Here's the English at our heels; would you have them take in tow 

All that's left us of the fleet, linked together stern and bow, 

For a prize to Plymouth Sound? 

Better run the ships aground!" 

(Ended Damfreville his speech.) 
Not a minute more to wait! 

"Let the Captains all and each 

Shove ashore, then blow up, burn the vessels on the beach! 
France must undergo her fate. 

v 
"Give the word!" But no such word 
Was ever spoke or heard; 

For up stood, for out stepped, for in struck amid all these 
— A Captain? A Lieutenant? A Mate — first, second, third? 

No such man of mark, and meet 

With his betters to compete! 

But a simple Breton sailor pressed by Tourville for the fleet, 
A poor coasting-pilot he, Herve Riel the Croisickese. 

VI 

And "What mockery or malice have we here?" cries Herve Riel: 
"Are you mad, you Malouins ? Are you cowards, fools, or rogues ? 
Talk to me of rocks and shoals, me who took the soundings, tell 
On my fingers every bank, every shallow, every swell 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 305 

'Twixt the offing here and Greve where the river disembogues? 
Are you bought by English gold? Is it love the lying's for? 
Morn and eve, night and day, 
Have I piloted your bay, 
Entered free and anchored fast at the foot of Solidor. 

Burn the fleet and ruin France? That were worse than fifty 
Hogues ! 
Sirs, they know I speak the truth! Sirs, believe me there's a 
way! 
Only let me lead the line. 

Have the biggest ship to steer, 
Get this Formidable clear, 
Make the others follow mine, 

And I lead them, most and least, by a passage I know well, 
Right to Solidor past Greve, 

And there lay them safe and sound; 
And if one ship misbehave, 
— Keel so much as grate the ground, 
Why, I've nothing but my life, — here's my head!" cries Herve Riel. 



i 

VII 

Not a minute more to wait. 

" Steer us in then, small and great! 

Take the helm, lead the line, save the squadron!" cried its chief. 
Captains, give the sailor place! 

He is Admiral, in brief. 
Still the north- wind by God's grace! 
See the noble fellow's face 
As the big ship, with a bound, 
Clears the entry like a hound, 
Keeps the passage, as its inch of way were the wide sea's profound! 

See, safe thro' shoal and rock, 

How they follow in a flock, 
Not a ship that misbehaves, not a keel that grates the ground, 

Not a spar that comes to grief! 



306 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

The peril, see, is past, 

All are harboured to the last, 

And just as Herve Riel hollas "Anchor!" — sure as fate, 

Up the English come, — too late! 



VIII 

So, the storm subsides to calm: 

They see the green trees wave 

On the heights o'erlooking Greve. 
Hearts that bled are staunched with balm. 
"Just our rapture to enhance, 
Let the English rake the bay, 
Gnash their teeth and glare askance 

As they cannonade away! 
'Neath rampired Solidor pleasant riding on the Ranee!" 
Now hope succeeds despair on each Captain's countenance! 
Out burst all with one accord, 

"This is Paradise for Hell! 

Let France, let France's King 

Thank the man that did the thing!" 
What a shout, and all one word, 

"Herve Riel!" 
As he stepped in front once more, 

Not a symptom of surprise 

In the frank blue Breton eyes, 
Just the same man as before. 



IX 

Then said Damfreville, "My friend, 
I must speak out at the end, 

Tho' I find the speaking hard. 
Praise is deeper than the lips; 
You have saved the King his ships, 

You must name your own reward. 
'Faith our sun was near eclipse I 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 307 

Demand whate'er you will, 

France remains your debtor still. 

Ask to heart's content and have! or my name's not Damfreville ^ ,, 



Then a beam of fun outbroke 

On the bearded mouth that spoke, 

As the honest heart laughed through 

Those frank eyes of Breton blue: 

"Since I needs must say my say, 

Since on board the duty's done, 

And from Malo Roads to Croisic Point, what is it but a run? — 

Since 'tis ask and have, I may — 

Since the others, go ashore — 

Come! A good whole holiday! 

Leave to go and see my wife, whom I call the Belle Aurore!" 
That he asked and that he got, — nothing more. 



XI 

Name and deed alike are lost: 
Not a pillar nor a post 

In his Croisic keeps alive the feat as it befell; 
Not a head in white and black 
On a single fishing smack, 
In memory of the man but for whom had gone to wrack 

All that France saved from the fight whence England bore the bell. 
Go to Paris: rank on rank 

Search the heroes flung pell-mell 
On the Louvre, face and flank! 

You shall look long enough ere you come to Herve Riel. 
So, for better and for worse, 
Herve Riel, accept my verse! 
In my verse, Herve Riel, do thou once more 

Save the squadron, honour France, love thy wife, the Belle Aurore! 

— Robert Browning. 



3 o8 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

Lesson 1. The Topic Sentence. 

If we should wish to tell someone very briefly 
what Browning's poem, " Herve Riel," is about, 
could we not do so in a single sentence ? For in- 
stance :— " Herve Riel, a simple Breton sailor, 
saved the French squadron from the British, after 
the battle of the Hogue, by piloting the Admiral's 
ship through Malo Roads." Or we might say sim- 
ply this : The poem tells how a simple Breton sailor 
once saved a French squadron. 

Exercises. — i. Make a list of six of your favorite 
stories ^ long or short , and tell the class as briefly as you 
can what each one is really about. Get them to help 
you to cut down your statement until it is just a single 
sentence. 

2. Choose in class one of the following books or pieces 
and let everyone in the class prepare to give in a single 
sentence what it is about. If the list does not suit you y 
add to it before making your choice. 

i. Evangeline. 7. The Bird's Christmas Carol. 

2. Little Women. 8. The Barefoot Boy. 

3. Paul Revere's Ride. 9. Santa Filomena. 

4. The Constitution of the U. S. 10. The Nurnberg Stove. 

5. Your text-book in Geography, n. The Great Stone Face. 

6. Young Lochinvar. 12. Abou Ben Adhem. 

3 . If you find there is some difference of opinion as to 
what the book chosen really is about , discuss its mean- 
ing in class. 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 309 

4. Imagine a conversation with an intimate friend 
about some book that you like and he or she doesnt like. 
Write your conversation in dialogue form. Before you 
copy, be sure that your punctuation and paragraphing 
are correct. 

Definition. — The subject of a story or any other 
piece of writing is called the Topic. 

Definition. — A sentence that gives the topic of a 
piece of writing is called a Topic Sentence. 

Lesson 2. The Title. 

Notice the difference between the title of a piece 
of writing and even the shortest topic sentence. The 
title suggests what the book is about, but does not 
really tell you ; the sentence tells you. Many very 
different compositions might have the same title. 
You might write an account, for instance, of a fish- 
ing excursion you enjoyed last summer ; a very good 
title for your story would be cc A Happy Day." 
But suppose, instead, you wanted to explain how 
many ways there are in which one can spend a day 
happily ; could you not name this very different 
composition also "A Happy Day"? And if a 
friend wanted to persuade you that the only happy 
day is a day when one has done somebody else a 
kindness, he would plainly have a right to use the 
same title. 

Exercises. — 1 . From the title " Christmas Shopping" 
suggest a good topic sentence for a composition telling of 



310 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

a little girl's trip to the shops ; for one describing a 
business street during Christmas week ; for one prov- 
ing that Christmas shopping ought to be done in Janu- 
ary. 

2. Compose topic sentences for as many and as differ- 
ent compositions as you can find in each of the following 
titles : — 

i. A School Day. 4. Picking Apples. 

2. Football. 5. St. Patrick's Day. 

3. October. 6. Tramps. 

Let some one put on the board a list of the topics 
found for each title. 

3. Bring to class a list of books that you think have 
especially attractive titles. 

4. If you know one or two that have poor titles , 
name them in class and tell what they are really about. 
Some one may be able to suggest better titles. 

5. Write a letter to a publishing house that has 
brought out a good book under a poor title. Try to 
prove to them that they should change the title before 
bringing out a second edition. 

Caution. — The first thing to do when given a subject for a com- 
position is to decide the way in which you are going to look at the 
subject; and this you can always show in one sentence. 

The title of a composition should interest the reader as well as 
suggest the topic. 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 311 

Lesson 3. Analyzing a Selection. 

If we read " Herve Riel " again, we shall find 
that every one of its separate parts or stanzas has a 
topic of its own, and that each one of these topics 
contributes something to the idea we have of what 
the whole poem is about. 

Stanza i tells when and where the incident took place. 

Stanza 2 tells why the squadron signalled for help. 

Stanza 3 tells what the pilots said. 

Stanza 4 gives the decision of the officers' council. 

Stanza 5 introduces the hero. 

Stanza 6 tells us what he said. 

Stanza 7 gives the fulfillment of his promise. 

Stanza 8 tells the joy and gratitude of the Frenchmen. 

Stanza 9 narrates the Admiral's offer of reward. 

Stanza 10 tells what Herve Riel asked for and got. 

Stanza 11 shows why the author wanted to write the story. 

Exercises. — 1. Tell the story of cc Herve Riel" as 
exactly as you can. Use the tense for your verbs that 
the author uses. 

2. Let one member of the class take the role of the 
Admiral and another that of " Herve Riel." Hold 
a conversation suggested by that in the poem. 

3. Explain in class what each stanza or paragraph 
does in one of the following selections : — 

1. Young Lochinvar. 5. A chapter in your Geography. 

2. The King of Denmark's Ride. 6. A chapter in your History. 

3. A Waterfowl. 7. A chapter in your Reading book 

4. The Gray Champion. 8. A chapter in your favorite book. 



312 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

4. Write a list of the chief incidents you would in- 
troduce into a story of your own. Here are some sug- 
gestions for topics : — 

1. Hiawatha. 4. A Visit to Washington. 

2. The Golden Fleece. 5. An Accident. 

3. A Wrestling Match. 6. A Heroic Deed. 

5. Discuss in class the proper order for these inci- 
dents. 

Definition. — Dividing a poem or other selection 
into its parts to show what each part tells is called 
Analyzing the selection. 

Lesson 4. Making an Abstract. 

By writing the topic sentences of every part of a 
poem or selection one after the other, it is plain that 
we get the whole selection in very much shortened 
form : thus : — 

1. On the thirty-first of May, after the battle of the Hogue, the 
French squadron fled towards St. Malo. 2. They signalled, "Give 
us help, or the English will take us." 3. When the pilots arrived, 
they said the ships were too large to make the river mouth. 4. Then 
the Admiral ordered the destruction of the vessels. 5. But before 
the command could be carried out, one of the sailors, a poor coasting 
pilot named Herve Riel, stepped forward and spoke. 6. He offered 
on pain of death to lead the line with the largest ship and pilot them 
safely through the narrow passage. 

Exercises. — 1 . Complete the group of sentences. 
2. Compare these sentences with the analysis in 
Lesson 3. 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 313 

3. Discuss the statement at the head of this lesson. 
Is there anything the abstract does not give? Is the 
abstract of any use? 

4. Make such a group of sentences representing the 
day s lesson in geography ', or in any other of your stud- 
ies. 

5. Write to a sick classmate^ giving in this way 
the most important points in each lesson he has missed 
in Arithmetic ; or in Geography ; or in History ; or in 
English. 

Definition. — A paragraph of topic sentences is 
called an Abstract. 

Lesson 5. The Topic Expressed or Understood. 

Read the following selection : — 

The Bunnies. 

In spite of their dangerous adventures the bunnies enjoyed the 
long summer. Every morning at earliest dawn up they hopped 
from the forms. The spot of flattened grass where each furry body 
had been resting was called a "form." Away to the clover-field 
they went leaping, one by one. There they drank the dewdrops, 
and ate a breakfast of sweet green leaves. They took a nibble here 
and a nibble there. Then they sat up on their haunches and looked 
around to spy out a possible enemy. Their round eyes twinkled 
this way and that, and their long ears twitched nervously at every 
sound. 

The twittering of the birds did not frighten them. They seemed 
to know that there was no danger-signal in the rustling of leaves 
on the trees, or the splashing of frogs in the pond. Even the crackle 
of twigs under the footsteps of a deer did not send them running. 



3 T4 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

They must have known that grass-eating animals would not harm 
them. 

When the sunshine fell bright on some sandy hillside, the bunnies 
went there, and stretched out like kittens in the pleasant warmth. 
They squirmed and blinked and turned slowly over and over. 
They lay on their backs and waved their paws in the air. Even 
then, while twisting and stretching in enjoyment, they were on the 
alert. At the sound of a caw from a neighboring tree, or at the 
sight of a hawk hovering far above, they all leapt to their feet, and 
scampered out of sight in a twinkling. 

Then for hours they sat on their forms in the shade of the bushes 
and dozed, half asleep, but ready to bound away at the first hint 
of danger. The scream of a blue jay startled every bunny wide 
awake in an instant. The jays always saw everything in the woods. 
The bunnies waited, without stirring, till they could find out what 
the trouble was. Sometimes it was a dog hunting for rabbits; 
sometimes it was a snake coiled in the sun, or a baby fox playing 
with his own tail; sometimes it was only a red squirrel, chattering 
and scolding at the blue jay. — Julia Schwartz: " Wilderness Babies." 

Exercises. — I. In this account of " The Bunnies" 
there is a sentence that every other sentence helps to ex- 
plain. Find it. 

2. Begin with this sentence and tell tJie class as ex- 
actly as yon can what the autJior lias told. Use the 
same tense that the aiitJwr uses. 

3. If you know well the habits of any animal, de- 
scribe them to the class in some such way as has been 
used by the author of " Wilderness Babies." Make a 
topic sente?ice about the animal to begin with. 

4. If you got your information about this animal on 
any special occasion, you might give an account of the 
occasion. How will you begin this account ? How will 
you close it ? 



THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 315 

5. If you can find a topic sentence ready-made in some 
of the following selections, write it down ; if not, make 
one as we did for " H'erve Riel" 

1. Tennyson's Song of the Brook. 6. Marjorie Daw. 

2. Macaulay's Battle of Ivry. 7. The Mountain and the Squirrel. 

3. Macaulay's Virginia. 8. Ye Mariners of England. 

4. Paul Revere' s Ride. 9. Rip Van Winkle. 

5. How they Brought the Good 10. Lowell's The Fountain. 

News from Ghent to Aix. 11. Lobo, in Wild Animals I Have 

Known. 



6. Discuss in class whether it would have been a good 
plan if Browning had begun " Herve' RieV with a sen- 
tence that told you what happened. 

7. Settle the question by having half the class write 
the story in one way and the other half hi the other. 
Get the teacher to decide which lot of stories is best. 

Definition. — Sometimes the sentence that tells you 
what the whole selection is about can be found, 
ready-made, in the selection. When this is so, the 
Topic Sentence is said to be expressed. 

Definition. — When the reader has to put the topic 
into his own words, the Topic Sentence is said to be 
understood. 



Lesson 6. Making a Topical Outline. 

In the account of " The Bunnies" we can find not 
only a ready-made topic sentence for the whole, but 
one for every separate paragraph in the selection. 



316 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

Exercises. — I- As you find the topic sentences in " The 
Bunnies" dictate them to a member of the class, who 
will put them on the board in this way :— 

Topic of the Whole. 

i. Topic of the first paragraph. 

2. " " " second " 

3. " " " third 

4. " " " fourth " 

2. Read a short story in class and agree ttpon the topic 
sentence of each paragraph before writing down as above. 
If the topic of the paragraph is not expressed, find the 
understood topic and put it into your own words. 

3. Make a topic sentence for a composition of three 
paragraphs on one of the following subjects :- — 

1. Cotton. 4. War. 

2. A Carpenter's Shop. 5. An Accident. 

3. A Wrestling Match. 6. Weeds. 

Make a topic sentence for each paragraph. Write 
them as above. 

4. Write the composition, indenting the first line of 
each paragraph one inch. Look up the directions for 
writing and folding a composition, if you have forgotten 
them. 

5 . Write compositions on some of the topic sentences in 
Exercise 2, Lesson 2, as the teacher may direct. 

Definition. — A list of the topics of paragraphs in a 
composition is called a Topical outline. 

Caution. — Always be sure to put the topic of the whole composi- 
tion at the head of your outline, just as you put the title at the head 
of the copied composition. 



. THE COMPOSITION AS A WHOLE 317 

Caution. — Always see that the outline is very neatly written and 
that the topic sentences are expressed as briefly and as much alike 
as possible. 

To the Teacher. — It has been thought wise to lighten the task 
of the teacher by suggesting topics for oral and written composition 
and pieces of literature lending themselves readily to the exercise 
under consideration; but such suggestion should not be allowed 
in any way to fetter the teacher's choice or to cramp the originality 
of the pupil. 



CHAPTER II 



NARRATION 



Lesson 7. Outlining a Story. 

In the poem " Herve Riel" the scene of the story 
is on board the Admiral's ship Formidable. It opens 
when the pilots come on board and ends when the 
sailor says what he would like to have. In the two 
opening stanzas we are told where and when the 
incident happened, who were in distress and why. 
In the concluding stanza we learn what the author 
thinks of the hero and of the men who forgot to do 
him honor. Another way to analyze the poem 
would be this : — 

Topic of the Whole. 



Introduci 


tion: 


: When : 
Where : 


The 31st of 

Hogue. 
On the sea 


May after the 
near Saint Malo. 


battle 


of 


the 






Who: 


The defeated French squadron under Dam- 
freville. 


Scene I. 


On 


Why : The pursuit 
board the Formidable. 


of the English. 









1. Topic Stanza 3. 

2. " " 4, etc. 
Conclusion: Topic Stanza 11. 



NARRATION 319 

Exercises. — 1. Complete the above outline. 

2. Read aloud in class one or more of the following 
poems : — 

1. Young Lochinvar. 4. The Wreck of the Hesperus. 

2. Sir Patrick Spens. 5. The Lady of Shalott. 

3. John Gilpin's Ride. 6. The Forsaken Merman. 

3. Decide in class who are the characters, how many 
scenes, where each scene opens and ends. 

4. Make an outline by scenes. 

5. Ask the teacher to appoint a member of the class to 
read Hawthorne s story of " The Ambitious Guest" or 
" The Snow Image" or Poes story of "Dr. Tarr and 
Professor Feather" and to tell it in class. 

6. In which of these stories do you get an idea of the 
end before it happens ? In which does the end come as a 
surprise ? 

7. Plan and write an original story in two scenes. 

Caution.. — Observe that stories may be in one or more scenes. 

Caution. — Observe that sometimes we find who the chief char- 
acters are and something about the story before the first scene 
opens; and that sometimes we do not. 

Lesson 8. Making a Story Interesting. 

The test of a good story is its power to get and 
hold the interest of the hearer or reader. This 
means more than containing some interesting inci- 
dents. A good story must be continuously interest- 
ing and must become more and more interesting as 
it goes along. One way to hold a person's attention 



320 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

is to excite his curiosity and yet not gratify it, or 
gratify it bit by bit. It is possible, however, to hold 
a person's attention even when he knows what is 
going to happen ; if a funny story gets funnier and 
funnier, it will be listened to even if the end is per- 
fectly clear or if the story has often been told be- 
fore. The only positive requirement is, that what- 
ever the interest of the story, it must grow stronger 
and stronger until the end, or until another interest 
takes its place. 

Exercises. — i. Bring to class a list of stories you 
think interesting and show the way in which your 
interest is made to grow steadily stronger. 

2. What is the most interesting moment in : 

i. Rip Van Winkle. 6. The King at the Golden River. 

2. The Ambitious Guest. 7. The Gold Bug. 

3. The Great Stone Face. 8. The Last of the Mohicans. 

4. The Pied Piper of Hamlin. 9. The Story of a Short Life. 

5. The Merchant of Venice. 10. Ali B aba and the Forty Robbers. 

3. What information has been kept back up to this 
point ? After this highest point is reached^ what 
change of interest ? See whether you can find in some 
of the books mentioned examples of what might be called 
" relay interests"' 

4. Read your latest composition to the class and let 
them tell you whether it gets more and more interesting. 

Definition. — The method of stimulating interest 
by withholding something that the reader wishes to 
know is called Suspense. 



NARRATION . 321 

Definition. — The arrangement of details in the 
order of their increasing interest and importance is 
called Climax. 

Lesson 9. The Tense of the Verb in Story Telling. 

Telling a story is a different thing from telling 
about a story. In telling a story you are the 
author of the story, or you make believe that you are 
while you are telling it. If the story is true, you 
wish it to be believed ; if it is imaginary, you wish 
to make it seem as real as possible. One way to 
make an imaginary story seem true is to use the past 
tense in telling it. Notice that fairy stories are 
always told in the past tense. In telling about a 
story, you are simply reminding your hearer of what 
is in the book you are speaking of, or you are re- 
porting it to him ; in this case it is well to use the 
present tense. 

Exercise. — 1. What tense is chiefly used in " Herve 
Riel" ? Point out and explain the use of any other 
tenses. Review Exercises 184 and 185 in the gram- 
mar. 

2. Tell the class briefly about some of the incidents in : 

1. Rip Van Winkle. 3. Oliver Twist. 

2. Treasure Island. 4. Any other story you know well. 

Use the present tense. 

3. Plan in class a composition of four paragraphs in 
which you show why you like a certain story. Let the 



322 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

first paragraph be a summary of the incidents of the 
story. Write on the board the topic of each of the other 
three paragraphs. 

4. Write the first paragraph using the present tense. 

5. Write in class , from memory > for a child to read. 

1. The Story of Cinderella. 4. Ulysses. 

2. The Gorgon's Head. 5. The Sirens. 

3. Baldur. 6. A fairy story of your own imagining. 

Use the present tense. 

Caution. — Always be sure to use the past tense in telling an origi- 
nal story. 

Caution. — Take care never to change the tense of your verbs 
without a good reason for doing so. 

Lesson 10. The Story told by the Characters. 

Do you think you get a better idea of what a per- 
son says when you hear his very words or when what 
he said is reported to you indirectly ? For instance, 
if you were telling a friend what your father said to 
you when he found that the house was on fire, would 
it be more interesting to say : " And my father told 
me to run and give the alarm " ? or, " Father called 
out to me, c Run ! Give the alarm ! ' " ? 

Exercises. — 1. In the sentences on pp. 88-8 9 change 
every direct quotation you find into indirect. What 
effect^ if any^ upon the interest ? 

2. Tell in class one or more of the following stories 



NARRATION 323 

without any direct quotation of what the characters 
said : — 

1. An incident of the French Camp. 

2. The White Ship. 

3. The Soldiers' Annie Laurie. 

4. The Tar Baby. 

5. The Walrus and the Carpenter. 

6. Father William. 

7. How They Brought the Good News. 

8. A Generous Deed (from Cuore). 

9. Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. 
10. Lowell's Courtin'. 

Have you improved them ? 

3. Make a list of the words used in one or more of 
these selections to introduce direct speech. Add to it. 

4. Re-read your own story, written according to in- 
structions in Exercise 5, Lesson 9, to find out whether 
any part of it could be put into conversation. If so, 
re-write, making the change. 

5. Read both versions to the class and let them de- 
cide which is the more interesting. 

Caution. — Observe that another way to make a story interesting 
is to let the characters speak for themselves. 

Caution. — Vary the words and the order of the words introducing 
conversation. Don't say always "he said" or "said he." 

To the Teacher. — It is so important to avoid making the impres- 
sion that there is some one stereotyped form of narrative structure, 
that the explanation of the needful elements of a story and the 
proper preparation have been left largely to the teacher, the em- 
phasis in the text being put on the important point, that a story 
should proceed by scenes. 



CHAPTER III 

DESCRIPTION 

Lesson 11. A Picture Study. 

A picture has a topic like a story or any other 
kind of book. That is to say, there is one idea 
which it is drawn or painted to express. In a good 
picture all the details help to make this idea clear, 
just as in a long composition each of the paragraphs 
helps us to understand what the whole thing is about, 
or in a paragraph each sentence helps us to under- 
stand what the paragraph is about. 

Exercises. — i. Decide what idea you think is ex- 
pressed by the picture on the opposite page and show 
the class how all the details guide you in finding that 
idea. If there are any details that do not help you y 
mention them. 

i. If some of the class disagree as to the meaning of 
the picture^ let them explain what they see in it. Get 
the class to decide which one has made the clearest and 
the completest explanation. 

3. Get the teacher or some member of the class who 
has recently seen a great picture to describe it. Or 



326 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

ask the teacher to appoint a member of the class to study 
some great picture to tell the class about. 

4. Find out by inquiry among your friends the me- 
chanical process of painting a pictttre. Plan and write 
an outline for a composition on this process. 

5. If the outline is approved, write the composition. 
If you prefer, put it in the form of a dialogue between 
you and an artist. Let this dialogue take place in the 
artist's studio or in a picture gallery. 

Lesson 12. Word Pictures. 

Read the following selections : — 

The mournful wind was up and out, shouting and chasing, the 
lord of the morning. Poplars swayed and tossed with a roaring 
swish; dead leaves sprang aloft, and whirled into space; and all 
the clear-swept heaven seemed to thrill with sound like a great 
harp. It was one of the first awakenings of the year. The earth 
stretched herself, smiling in her sleep; and everything leaped and 
pulsed to the air of the giant's movement. — Kenneth Grahame ; 
"The Golden Age." 

A panorama more deplorably desolate no human imagination can 
conceive. To the right and left, as far as the eye could reach, there 
lay outstretched, like ramparts of the world, lines of horribly black 
and beetling cliff, whose character of gloom was but the more forcibly 
illustrated by the surf which reared high up against it its white and 
ghastly crest, howling and shrieking forever. Just opposite the 
promontory upon whose apex we were placed, and at a distance of 
some five or six miles out at sea, there was visible a small, bleak- 
looking island; or more properly its position was discernible through 
the wilderness of surge in which it was enveloped. About two miles 
nearer the land, arose another of smaller size, hideously craggy and 
barren, and encompassed at various intervals by a cluster of dark 
rocks. — Edgar Allan Poe : "A Descent into the Maelstrom." 



DESCRIPTION 327 

The Flag Goes By. 

Hats off! 
Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums, 
A flash of color beneath the sky; 

Hats off! 
The flag is passing by! 

Blue and crimson and white it shines, 
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. 

Hats off! 
The colors before us fly; 
But more than the flag is passing by. 

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great 5 
Fought to make and save the State; 
Weary marches and sinking ships; 
Cheers of victory on dying lips; 

Days of plenty and years of peace; 
March of strong land's swift increase; 
Equal justice, right and law, 
Stately honor and reverend awe; 

Sign of a nation great and strong 

To ward her people from foreign wrong. 

Pride and glory and honor, — all 

Live in the colors to stand or fall. 

Hats off! 
Along the street there comes 
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums; 
And loyal hearts are beating high: 

Hats off! 
The flag is passing by! — Henry Holcomb Bennett 



328 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

"A slight figure," said Mr. Peggotty, looking at the fire, "kinder 
worn; soft, sorrowful, blue eyes; a delicate face; a pritty head, 
leaning a little down; a quiet voice and way — timid a'most. That's 
Em'ly!" — Charles Dickens: "David Copperfield." 

Pictures may be made with words as well as with 
pencil or brush, but with this difference : the 
painter's picture is before our eyes ; the word pic- 
ture must be seen by the eye of the mind — the 
imagination. The first thing that we have to do in 
making such a picture with words is to be sure that 
we ourselves have a clear picture before our eye, 
which we want another person to see ; the next thing 
is to contrive it so that the other person may see at 
a glance the whole picture we want him to see, no 
matter how large it may be. 



Exercises. — I. Read aloud in class each of the pas- 
sages above. Let the members of the class say offhand, 
each in 07ie sentence, what they see. 

2. Study the selections and find the expressions that 
give the impression. 

3. Find some passages in your favorite books that seem 
to yon as vivid as those above. 

4. Find a comparison that would make the height of 
a very tall man clear to yoitr hearer s or reader s eye ; 
one that would enable him to see the shape of a meadow 
or city park ; one that would express well the color of 
the sky in March ; one that would give a sti'anger some 
idea of a village; of the size of a great bidlding ; of 



DESCRIPTION 329 

the Jinny of the people in the streets ; of the speed of a 
runner. 

5 . Tell some tiling yon have see7i a person of your ac- 
quaintance do that showed so plainly the sort of person 
he is that you think it might be taken as a description of 
his character. Mention incidents of this kind in some 
of the books you have read. 

6. Write a letter to a stranger describing a person 
whom he is to meet and whom he has never seen. Con- 
sider the difference between this letter and the letters you 
wrote according to suggestions in Lessons 2 and 4. 

Caution. — In describing be sure to make it easy for people to see 
the whole object at a glance. 

Lesson 13. Selecting Details. 

Everyone knows how differently the same thing 
sounds when different people tell it, or even when 
the same person tells it at another time or place or 
to different people. Imagine, for instance, that you 
had the experience of a visit from a tramp who asked 
you for money. If you were reporting the case to 
some society or person interested in relieving home- 
less people, you would be almost sure to tell about 
the man's thin and ragged clothing, his cough, or 
whatever showed you that he needed help. If, on 
the other hand, you were telling the incident to a 
child, you would be more likely to mention the odd 
and comical things about the man — his dirty hands 
and face, the way he gobbled the food you gave him, 



330 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

or you might tell how scared you were and the 
funny things you did to hide it. You would natu- 
rally tell the details that would interest the person 
listening to you. Both your stories would be true, 
but they would be quite different. 

Exercises. — I. To what hearers do you think the 
author is speaking in these books : 

i. Tom Sawyer. 8. Micah Clarke. 

2. Little Women. 9. Bannockburru 

3. Two years Before the Mast. 10. Alice, Through the Looking 

4. Ye Mariners of England. Glass. 

5. The Night Before Christmas. 11. The Bunker Hill Oration. 

6. Snow Bound. 12. The Concord Hymn. 

7. Lest We Forget. 13. Rab and His Friends. 

2. Give the class an account of a school day as you 
would give it to your parents or to some one who had 
never seen a public school. Then tell about the same 
day in a way that would, be interesting to a sick class- 
mate. Let the class criticise the appropriateness of the 
details you give. 

3. Arrange with one of your classmates to tell in 
turn before the class some incident you both saw or took 
part in. Let one tell the story as he thinks it would 

be interesting to the city or country authorities ; let the 
other tell it as if he were speaking to the children of 
the second grade. Be careful that neither puts in any- 
thing that did not happen. Let the class criticise. 

4. On your way to school in the morning make a 
business of observing what you see that you think the 



DESCRIPTION 331 

class and the teacher would be interested in. — Do this 
for three consecutive mornings, making notes to help 
yoit remember. Then report to the class what you 
have gathered. Here are a few good topics: 

Street Cries; Icicles; Drifts; Street Cleaning; First Signs of 
Spring ; Draft Horses ; How Animals Protect Themselves ; The 
Work of Water ; The Bark of Trees ; The Flight of Birds ; How 
Plants Come Through the Ground. 

Tell only what you, actually saw on these three morn- 
ings. 

Caution. — Learn to observe closely and to record your obser- 
vations. 

Caution.— Select details that will be interesting to the people 
you are addressing. 

Lesson 14. Suiting Method to Purpose. 

Of course nobody could tell all the truth about 
anything, no matter how long he wrote or talked, 
or how much interested people were in what he said. 
It is necessary to choose what is most important 
and to let the rest go. And what is most important 
will depend on what your particular reason is for 
wanting to be listened to. If you want to make a 
person laugh, you must select for his hearing what- 
ever is amusing in what you have to tell. If you 
want him to do something for you, you will mention 
whatever you think will have that effect. 

Exercises. — I- What impression does the author try to 
give us of: 



332 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

i. Ichabod Crane? 7. Alice in Wonderland? 

2. Sleepy Hollow? 8. The Jungle ? 

3. Tiny Tim ? 9. Marmion ? 

4. Scrooge? 10. Brutus? 

5. The Chimaera? 11. The Water Babies? 

6. Mrs. Fezziwig? 12. The Scots at Flodden Field? 

2. What does the author try to make us feel in 

1. The Gettysburg Address? 3. Sir Galahad? 

2. The Star Spangled Banner? 4. The Great Stone Face? 

3. Describe the Bunnies as the red squirrel would do 
it; Ichabod Crane as one of his good little boys would 
do it, — as one of the young ladies in his singing class 
would do it; a country barnyard as a child would who 
had never been in the country before ; a busy corner as 
a child would who had never been in the city before ; 
Rip Van Winkle as Wolf would do it. 

4. Tell a story about running for a U'ain and miss- 
ing it, as you think Mark Twain would tell it ; as you 
think the girl who had never been late to school before 
would do it. 

5. Write a conversation between you and your fathef 
or mother in which each gives his own reason why you 
should have a trip. Write an introductory paragraph 
to this dialogue giving the time and place and circum- 
stances of its occurrence. 

Caution. — Observe that another reason why there are many 
ways of telling the same thing is that people have different pur- 
poses in telling it. 

Caution. — Before you begin a written or an oral composition, 
be sure that you know your Purpose in writing or speaking. 



DESCRIPTION 333 

Lesson 15. Unity in the Composition. 

Can you imagine a comparison between a story > 
a description, or any sort of composition and a 
wheel ? You remember that every composition has 
a central idea which we express in the topic sentence 
and that every paragraph contains some thought 
that is clearly connected with the central thought. 
Finally, most compositions have at the end some- 
thing that brings back to your mind the topic sen- 
tence or what the whole piece is about. In such a 
comparison what part of the composition would re- 
mind you of the hub of the wheel ? Of the rim? 

Exercises. — i . Read some of the following selections: 

i. Lowell's poem To the Dandelion. 

2. Hawthorne's Ambitious Guest. 

3. The Battle of Chevy Chase. 

4. A Dog of Flanders. 

5. King Robert of Sicily. 

6. The Bell of Atri and others of the Tales of a Wayside Inn. 

7. Rab and his Friends. 

8. The Bunnies. 

9. The Snow Image. 

10. Kaa's Hunting and other stories of the Jungle Books. 

What is the most important thought in any one of 
these selections ? Do yon find it repeated at the end f 

2. What indications do you find of the sort of place in 
which the story occurs f Gather up all details of this sort 
into a paragraph. 

3. Arrange a debate in class on the question: Is the 



DESCRIPTION 335 

ability to paint a fine picture more desirable than the 
ability to write well? Let each speaker conclude his ar- 
gument with a summary of his reasons for maintaining 
his side of the question. 

4. Try making an outline in the form of a wheel for 
one side of this debate, or for one of the shorter selections 
mentioned above. Where will you write the topic sen- 
tence ? The topics of the paragraph ? The summariz- 
ing sentence ? 

5. Plan and write a description of yourschoolhouse or 
your own home or a summer cottage as seen from three 
points. Decide before you begin from what point you are 
looking at it and how yoit can give a general idea of its 
appearance to a person who has never seen it. When you 
have finished, re-read to make sure that those things are 
in your first paragraph, and that you have made it clear 
when you changed your position. Close your description 
with a sentence that gives again in different words the 
picture you wish your reader to carry away. 

Definition. — Details that give time and place are 
said to form the Setting of a story or description. 

Definition. — When all the parts of a composition 
are clearly related to the central topic, the composi- 
tion has Unity. 

To the Teacher. — 1. Good work in description may be done 
with the help of reproductions of famous pictures. 

2. As in the case of narrative structure, the danger of forcing 
upon the pupil's mind a stereotyped form has been considered more 
serious than that of some laxness in instructions. Let the pupil 
try different methods of presenting the object as a whole, and see 
that he varies the order of his details. 



CHAPTER IV 



THE PARAGRAPH 



Lesson 16. Unity in the Paragraph. 

Read the following selection : — 

The boy can best become a good man by being a good boy — 
not a goody-goody boy, but just a plain good boy. I do not mean 
that he must love only the negative virtues; I mean he must love 
the positive virtues also. "Good" in the largest sense should 
include whatever is fine, straightforward, clean, brave, and manly. 
The best boys I know — the best men I know — are good at their 
studies or their business, fearless and stalwart, hated and feared 
by all that is wicked and depraved, incapable of submitting to 
wrong-doing, and equally incapable of being aught but tender to 
the weak and helpless. A healthy-minded boy should feel hearty 
contempt for the coward, and even more hearty indignation for the 
boy who bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals. One 
prime reason for abhorring cowards is because every good boy 
should have it in him to thrash the objectionable boy as the need 
arises. — Theodore Roosevelt: "The Good Citizen." 

We have found over and over again that every 
paragraph in a composition has a topic of its own, 
just as the whole composition has one. This is true 
of any paragraph, whether it is part of a larger 
composition or whether it is itself the whole com- 



THE PARAGRAPH 337 

position. A paragraph is not just a collection of 
sentences. 

Exercises. — 1 . Compare the two groups of sentences 
under Exercise 190 in the Grammar with the group of 
sentences by Mr. Roosevelt. What difference between 
them ? 

2. Can you find any sentence in the group above that 
would best be left out ? If you can, tell the class why 
you think so. 

3. Write a paragraph on any one of these topic sen- 
tences : — 

1. War is sometimes right. 

2. I once had a very odd experience. 

3. History is my hardest study. 

4. The prettiest sight in the world is a group of little children 
at play. 

5. I shall never forget when I learned how to . 

6. It is no small matter to make a collection of . 



4. In which of the paragraphs suggested under Ex- 
ercise 3 might there be occasion for a setting ? Let 
the class suggest suitable settings for them. 

Caution. — Observe that in a good paragraph every sentence has 
a part in making clear the paragraph topic. . 

Lesson 17. The Topic of the Paragraph. 

Read the following selections : — 

Yet it is pleasant to remember that, in our climate, there are no 
weeds so persistent and lasting and universal as grass. Grass is 
the natural covering of the field. There are but four weeds that 



33% LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

I know of — milkweed, live-forever, Canada thistle, and toad-flag 
— that it will not run out in a good soil. We crop it and mow it 
year after year; and yet, if the season favors, it is sure to come 
again. Fields that have never known the plow and never been 
seeded by man are yet covered with grass. And in human nature, 
too, weeds are by no means in the ascendant, troublesome as they 
are. The good green grass of love and truthfulness and common 
sense is more universal, and crowds the idle weeds to the wall. — 
John Burroughs : "A Bunch of Herbs." 

If I were to relate the whole of Bellerophon's previous adven- 
tures, they might easily grow into a very long story. It will be 
quite enough to say, that in a certain country in Asia, a terrible 
monster, called a Chimasra, had made its appearance, and was doing 
more mischief than could be talked about between now and sunset. 
According to the best accounts which I have been able to obtain, 
this Chimaera was nearly, if not quite, the ugliest and most poisonous 
creature, and the strangest and unaccountablest, and the hardest, 
to fight with, and the most difficult to run away from, that ever 
came out of the earth's inside. It had a tail like a boa- constrictor, 
its body was like I do not care what ; and it had three separate heads 
one of which was a lion's, the second a goat's and the third an 
abominably great snake's. And a hot blast of fire came flaming 
out of each of its three mouths! Being an earthly monster, I doubt 
whether it had any wings; but, wings or no, it ran like a goat and a 
lion, and wiggled along like a serpent, and thus contrived to make 
about as much speed as all the three together. — From The Chimczra 
in Hawthorne's "Wonder Book." 



Exercises. — i. Find the topic sentence in each of the 
paragraphs above. How can you prove that you are 
right ? 

2. Point out any comparisons you can find in them. 
Do these comparisons help to make the topic clearer ? 
What else do they do ? 



THE PARAGRAPH 339 

3. Point out any expressions that give the setting; 
of what use are they ? 

4. Express in full one of the two comparisons sug- 
gested in the last sentence of the first paragraph^ and 
use it as a topic sentence for a paragraph. 

5. Read your par agragh to the class and let them 
say whether every sentence in the paragraph belongs 
there. 

Caution. — Observe that the topic of a paragraph is not always at 
the beginning of a paragraph; it may be anywhere in the paragraph. 

Caution. — Observe that a paragraph frequently has an intro- 
ductory sentence at the beginning and a summarizing sentence at 
the end. 

Lesson 18. The Topic Expressed or Understood. 

Read the following selection : — 

In came a fiddler with a music book, and went up to the lofty desk 
and made an orchestra of it, and tuned like fifty stomach-aches. In 
came Mrs. Fezziwig (one vast substantial smile). In came the 
three Miss Fezziwigs, beaming and lovable. In came the six young 
followers whose hearts they broke. In came all the young men and 
women employed in the business. In came the housemaid, with 
her cousin, the baker. In came the cook, with her brother's particu- 
lar friend, the milkman. In they all came, one after another; some 
shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some push- 
ing, some pulling; in they all came, anyhow and everyhow. Away 
they all went, twenty couples at once; hands half round and back 
again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and 
round in various stages of affectionate grouping; old top couples 
always turning up in the wrong place; new top couples starting off 
again as soon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a 
bottom one to help them! When this result was brought about, 



34Q LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

old Fezziwig, clapping his hands to stop the dance, cried out, "Well 
done!" — Charles Dickens: "A Christmas Carol." 

Exercises. — I. Find or make a topic sentence for this 
paragraph. 

2. Without expressing your opinion about a person 
you know, tell some things he does and says that will 
probably show the class what you think of him. 

3. Arrange with one of your mates to hold a con- 
versation in the class about someone whom you both 
know and whom you have different opinions about. 
Let each one give examples as above, of what the per- 
son does or says, without expressing his opinion. Let 
the class decide what your difference of opinion is. 

4. 77 would be interesting to have each member of 
the class choose a character from some book the class 
has read and write a paragraph about him without nam- 
ing him. Then let everyone guess the person s identity. 

Definition. — When the Topic of a paragraph is 
found in one of the sentences of the paragraph, it is 
said to be Expressed. 

Definition. — If no one of the sentences expresses 
it wholly, the Topic is said to be Understood. 

Lesson 19. Connecting Sentences and Paragraphs. 

Read the following selection : 

Bodily labour is of two kinds, either that which a man submits 
to for his livelihood, or that which he undergoes for his pleasure. 
The latter of them generally changes the name of labour for that 
of exercise, but differs only from ordinary labour as it rises from 



THE PARAGRAPH 341 

another motive. A country life abounds in both these kinds of 
labour, and for that reason gives a man a greater stock of health, 
and consequently a more perfect enjoyment of himself, than any 
other way of life. I consider the body as a system of tubes and 
glands, or, to use a more rustic phrase, a bundle of pipes and strainers, 
fitted to one another after so wonderful a manner as to make a 
proper engine for the soul to work with. — Addison: "Sir Roger 
de Coverley." 

Since the sentences of a paragraph are all con- 
nected with one another, it is a good plan to show 
the connection by words that can express it. For 
example, if you are going to give an illustration you 
might use the words, " as an example/' or cc for in- 
stance." If you are showing a difference between 
two things, the proper connection would be some 
such word as " but." 

Exercises. — 1. In the paragraph above point out words 
showing relation between sentences. 

2. Find any such connective words in the separate 
paragraphs or in the longer selections given in sections 
above. 

3 . Make a list of words expressing relation in time, 
relation in space, result, addition, contrast. 

See Chapter X of Part II in the Grammar. 

4. Write a paragraph with an introductory sentence 
and a summarizing sentence. Choose your topic. 

5. Write two paragraphs comparing two pictures or 
two persons that you know ; two classes of people ; two 
styles of architecture ; two sorts of sound. Use a con- 
nective expression at the beginning of the second para- 



342 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

graph showing relation between the paragraphs. Let 
the first paragraph begin with an introductory sentence, 
and the last paragraph with a summary of the thought 
of both. 

Caution. — Use connectives to join sentences of a paragraph. 
Caution. — Use connectives to join paragraphs. 



CHAPTER V 



THE SENTENCE 



Lesson 20. Unity in the Sentence. 

If we wish to speak and write so as to be under- 
stood and appreciated, we must see to it that our 
thoughts are expressed in perfectly clear sentences. 
Have you ever said or thought, when hearing some 
one tell a story, <c How I wish he would stick to his 
subject ! " Sticking to the subject is something that 
everyone who wishes to be listened to with interest 
must learn to do. We have seen how necessary it 
is in writing a composition, and we can easily see 
how necessary it is in even a single sentence. Gram- 
mar teaches us that not every group of words is a 
sentence, but that a group of two words is a sentence 
if only they give us the two essentials of a complete 
thought. (See Grammar pp. 15-17.) This really 
means that in every good sentence, short or long, 
every word must help in some way to make clear 
one single thought. Let us see how this is. 

Exercises. — 1 . Re-read the compound sentences in Ex- 
ercise J 1 of the Grammar. Point out the connection of 
thought between the two clauses. 



344 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

2. Try combining the sentences given in Exercise 52. 
For instance, Nos. 1 and 2, Nos. 3 and 4, and so on. 
Point out the difference between the combinations so 
made and the compound sentences in Exercise 7 1 . 

3. Re-read tJie definition of a compound sentence, 
p. 98 of the Grammar. Can you add something to it ? 
{Read the paragraph preceding the definition.) 

4. Write a ten minute paragraph in class on one of 
the following subjects : — 

1. "A Christmas Custom." 4. "The Corner Grocery." 

2. "One of my Heroes." 5. "Why I like to Sew." 

3. "Fishing." 6. "Going to the Circus." 

What is your topic sentence ? 

5. Ask the teacher to read aloud one or two of these 
paragraphs that seem to her interesting, and to have them 
put on the board. Examine the sentences one by one and 
criticise them as Exercises 1 and 2 would suggest. 

Definition. — A sentence is a complete thought and 
one only. 

Definition. — A sentence is a miniature composi- 
tion. 

Definition. — The quality of having one main 
thought which all other thoughts help to make clear 
is called Unity ( cc oneness "). 



Lesson 21. Subordination in the Sentence. 

Another reason why the thought of a sentence is 
not clear may be that we have forgotten to put the 



THE SENTENCE 345 

most important idea in the most important place, or 
that we say very little about what is of great import- 
ance and a great deal about what is not. The main 
clause of a sentence is more important than a sub- 
ordinate clause, and the most conspicuous places in 
a sentence are the beginning and the end — es- 
pecially the end. In the two sentences that follow, 
note the relative importance of the ideas in each : — 

(1) The generous boy gave the beggar a penny. 

(2) When he gave the beggar a penny, the boy 
showed that he was generous. 

Exercises. — i. Which is the most important idea in 
sentence i above ? In sentence 2 ? In what way is 
the difference made ? 

2. In one of the paragraphs given above show how 
you can change the meaning of that sentence by condens- 
ing thoughts that are to be less important and by giving 
the most important place to the most important thought. 

3. Write a paragraph of your own on a topic selected 
for you by your teacher. 

4. Put your own sentences on the board and see 
whether you can mvke what you really intend to say 
more clear by the above methods ? What changes can 
you produce ? 

Caution. — Put the most important thought in the main clause. 

Caution. — Give space to important details; omit or condense 
unimportant details. 



346 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

Lesson 22. Connecting the Parts of the Sentence. 

Sometimes there is a connection between two 
thoughts which does not appear simply because we 
have not used the word whose business it is to show 
the connection. For instance, if we should say, 
" It is raining, I must go out," we should have a 
combination like those we made of sentences in 
Exercise 60 of the Grammar. But if* we say, 
cc Though it is raining, I must go out," the single 
thought of the sentence becomes perfectly clear. 
Again, sometimes the reason why our thought is 
not clear is not that we have forgotten our connec- 
tives but that we have used the wrong ones ; " Though 
it is raining, I must go," is a very different thought 
from "Since it is raining, I must go." 

Exercises. — 1. Read Chapter X of Part II of the 
Grammar. 

2. Read the sentences of one of your paragraphs 
written in class. Are the thoughts properly connected ? 
Let the class suggest improvements. ■ 

3. Make as many changes of meaning in each sen- 
tence as you can by changing the connectives only. 

4. Plan a series of four letters to pass between you 
and a friend. Let :ach letter after the first contain 
references to what has been said in the preceding let- 
ters. Where will you look for information concerning 
the proper form of a friendly letter ? 

5. Give an account in class of some public event. 



THE SENTENCE 347 

Let the class stop every speaker who says " and — 
and — and." 

Caution. — Use connective words to show relation between parts 
of sentences. 

Caution. — Be careful to use the connective that expresses your 
meaning. 

Lesson 23. Likeness of Form in the Sentence. 

Some thoughts that are really connected clearly 
seem not to be so because they are so differently ex- 
pressed. For instance, we could not put into one 
sentence the two sentences (Exercise 56) " Study 
to be quiet " and "A man should learn to govern 
himself," but if we made the construction of the 
two alike, we should see a close connection. cc A 
man should learn to govern himself and should 
study to be quiet " is a good sentence ; so is this, 
u Study to be quiet and learn to govern yourself ' 

Exercises. — 1. Combine each pair of sentences into 
one by making their construction similar : — 

(1) Writing compositions is hard. To read an interesting book 
is easy. (2) If you find a pin with the head toward you, pick it 
up. Finding one with the point toward you, it is better to pass 
it by. (3) When studying try to forget play. At play one should 
not remember one's books. (4) It is pleasant to go to school? 
A holiday is happiness. (5) The man or boy that works gets the 
prize. The idle get nothing. 

2. Write a series of four business letters to pass be- 
tween you and a business firm. Let each letter after 



348 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

the first contain reference to the contents of the preced- 
ing letters. What difference in form between a friendly 
and a business letter? 

3. Write an abstract for your diary as a memoran- 
dum of this correspondence. 

4. Make a story of some experience that you have 
had or heard of which had an exciting or surprising 
termination. Try to make the interest grow steadily 
stronger. 

5. Read your story to the class , asking for criticism 
of climax and setting. 

Caution. — Observe that similarity in form helps to make clear 
connection in thought. 

Caution. — In a business letter be sure to say everything that is 
absolutely necessary for clearness; and nothing that is not. 

Lesson 24. Variety in the Sentence. 

One sort of sentence can have the quality of unity 
as well as another. We have seen that a compound 
or a complex sentence can have it as well as a simple 
sentence ; and if we examine again the sentences 
under Exercise 71, we see that long sentences can 
have it as well as short. This is a fortunate thing, 
because one kind of sentence would become very 
tiresome. People who speak and write well use all 
kinds of sentences. 

Exercises. — Read the selections given in Lessons 1 2, 
14, 15, 16, 17 and point out :- — 



THE SENTENCE 349 

(1) All the short sentences. 

(2) All the very long sentences. 

(3) All the simple sentences. 

(4) All the compound sentences. 

(5) All the complex sentences. 

(6) All the interrogative sentences. 

(7) All the exclamatory sentences. 

(8) All the imperative sentences. 

i . In which selection do you find most exclamatory 
sentences ? What do you think of the effect of this 
sort of sentence ? 

1. Notice the short sentences. Get rid of them if 
you can by joining them to neighboring sentences. Do 
you like the change ? What do you think is the use of 
these short sentences ? 

3. Divide the sentences in the paragraph on the 
Chimera into as many short sentences as you can. 
Read aloud. What effect do so many short sentences 
give ? 

4. Find a paragraph above in which the sentences 
seem to be very much alike. Do you like the effect f 
Would you like many paragraphs of that sort follow- 
ing each other f 

Caution. — Observe that different kinds of sentences make differ- 
ent effects. 

Caution. — Train yourself to use all kinds of sentences. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE WORD 



Lesson 25. Building up a Vocabulary. 

The very same thought may be made to seem a 
very different thought by expression in different 
words. Take the saying, for instance, that every one 
knows — "Discretion is the better part of valor;" 
how different that same thought sounds when we 
put it in this way, — 

"He who fights and runs away 
Will live to fight another day." 

Again, cc Pride goeth before a fall " means very 
much the same thing as the familiar remark, " Don't 
put on airs," but has quite a different effect. 

Exercises. — i. Bring to class a list of maxims you 
have heard. Express the thought of each one in differ- 
ent language. 

2. In which of the selections given in Lesson 12, 
page 266—26/ do you find the greatest number of long 
words ? In which the greatest number of short 
words f Do you think the authors of these two selec- 



THE WORD 351 

tions would use the same words in telling the same 
story f Try re-writing one of the selections in the way 
you think the author of the other would tell it. 

3. Make as long a list as you can of pairs of words 
you know, one t long and one short, meaning the s&me thing; 
e. g. : 

1. Migration, moving. 2. Revolution, change. 3. Residence, 
home. 

Discuss in class the circumstances under which you 
would use each word. 

4. Let the teacher assign to each member of the class 
an interesting topic from the work in history, geography, 
or other studies. Let each member of the class try to 
make an explanation of his topic that the children of 
the fourth grade could understand and like. Write a 
topical outline of what you have to say and hand it in 
to the teacher. Get permission if possible to go to the 
fourth grade room and make the explanation to them. 
If they are interested, your work is good. 

Caution. — Remember that the more words you know, the better 
able you will be to make what you say clear and interesting to your 
hearer. 

Caution. — Try every day to add some new word to your vocabu- 
lary. 

Lesson 26. Accuracy in Expression. 

Read the following selection : — 

The bear was coming on; he had, in fact, come on. I judged 
that he could see the whites of my eyes. All my subsequent reflec- 



352 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

tions were confused. I raised the gun, covered the bear's breast 
with the sight, and let drive. Then I turned and ran like a deer 
— I did not hear the bear pursuing. I looked back. The bear 
had stopped. He was lying down. I then rememberecl that the 
best thing to do after having fired your gun is to reload it. I slipped 
in a charge, keeping my eyes on the bear. He never stirred. I 
walked back suspiciously. There was a quiver in the hind legs, 
but no other motion. Still he might be shamming; bears often 
sham. To make sure I approached and put a ball into his head. 
He didn't mind it now, he minded nothing. Death had come to 
him with a merciful suddenness. He was calm in death. In order 
that he might remain so, I blew his brains out, and then started 
for home. I had killed a bear! 

Notwithstanding my excitement, I managed to saunter into the 
house with an unconcerned air. There was a chorus of voices: — 

" Where are your blackberries ?" 

"Why were you gone so long?" 

"Where's your pail?" 

"I left the pail." 

"Left the pail! What for?" 

"A bear wanted it." 

"Oh, nonsense!" 

"Well, the last I saw of it a bear had it." 

"Oh, come! You didn't really see a bear?' 

"Yes, but I did really see a real bear." 

"Did he run?" 

"Yes; he ran after me." 

"I don't believe a word of it. What did you do."? 

"Oh, nothing particular — except kill the bear." 

Cries of "Gammon!" "Don't believe it!" "Where's the 
bear?" 

"If you want to see the bear, you must go up into the woods. 
I couldn't bring him home alone." — Warner: "How I Killed a 
Bear." 



There are many long words and many short words 



THE WORD 353 

in the English language, and both kinds are for our 
use. Sometimes the long word is better and some- 
times the short word. The important thing is to 
find the word that will give the most vivid picture 
of its meaning. For instance, the expression " The 
stranger walked off" is clear, but it gives very little 
idea of how he looked as he did it. Now try sub- 
stituting for " walked " one of these words : ambled, 
bustled, crept, darted, shuffled, slouched, and note 
the effect. In order to make a vivid mental picture 
a word must be accurate : we can think " walk," but 
we can see only one kind of walking at a time ; we 
can think "very heavy," but we feel "one hundred 
pounds." 

Exercises. — i. Substitute in the selections above long 
words for short. What change do you observe? 

2. Point out the words in the selections in Lessons 
5, 12, 18, that give the most accurate pictures. 

3. Make, and read in class, a list of words that 
give an accurate impression of a kind of (a) taste, (b) 
smell, (c) sound, (d) walk. 

4. Picture in words as accurately as you can : — 

1. A very tall person. 5. Oval. 

2. A very large building. 6. An agreeable voice. 

3. A long walk. 7. A disagreeable manner. 

4. A gorgeous color. 8. Very hot water. 

5. Write a paragraph using for the title any one of 
the following subjects : — 



354 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

i. City Noises. 5. Horseback Riding. 

2. A Morning Bath. 6. A Trip in an Automobile, 

3. My Canary. 7. Spring in the Country. 

4. A Sick Room. 

Let the class criticise the power of your words to 
bring up before them pictures and sensations. 

6. Write a formal invitation in the third person to 
an acquaintance inviting him to dine with your par- 
ents. What information must you give with perfect 
accuracy ? 

7. Discuss in class with the teacher the reasons for 
the difference in form of a business letter ^ an informal 
friendly letter ', and a formal note of invitation. 

Caution. — Try to observe and describe Accurately. 

Caution. — Use for accuracy comparisons, exact figures, and words 
whose Sound suggests the meaning. 

Lesson 27. What is good English ? Present use. 

In the preceding lessons we have seen that what we 
wish to do when we speak or write, is to make what 
we have to say so clear and so interesting to the 
people to whom we are addressing ourselves that they 
will be glad to listen to us. In order to accom- 
plish this we must begin by knowing the language 
we are to use ; that is to say, we must know how 
educated people speak and write. That is one of 
the chief reasons for going to school. 

If a person were to say to you, " If you do not 



THE WORD 355 

do as I say, you will abye it," you would probably 
have no idea what he meant. It would do you no 
good at all to have him tell you that if you had lived 
three hundred years ago you would have understood 
him perfectly. There are a great many words in 
the dictionaries and in literature, particularly in 
poetry, that have now gone out of fashion ; and if 
you wish to speak so as to be understood and not 
to be smiled at, you must know what they are. 

Exercises. — I. Find, in poems that y oil know, words 
which are not now used in everyday speech. Look through : 

i. Sir Patrick Spens. 4. Julius Caesar. 

2. The Lady of Shalott. 5. The Merchant of Venice. 

3. Chevy Chase. 6. The Culprit Fay. 

2. Some words are still sometimes used in everyday 
speech, but are going out of fashion. Can you find ex- 
pressions of that sort in books written by Hawthorne, 
Irving, Cooper, Scott? 

Caution. — Observe that to be "good English" a word must be 
in common use now. 

Definition. — Words no longer used are called 
Obsolete. If they are used but are gradually going 
out of use, they are called Obsolescent. 

Lesson 28. Idioms and Slang. 

Words, however, may be in present use and not 
be good English. We hear much bad grammar 



35^ 



LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 



and slang every day. No expression is fit to be 
called good English that people of education and 
refinement do not use. Slang is of course not good 
English. The fact that some people who know 
what good English is sometimes use slang, does not 
make slang good English. To accomplish that, it 
is necessary that all the people who write and speak 
best should begin to use it regularly. Sometimes 
this happens ; for instance, twenty-five years ago 
" outsider " was a slang phrase, now it is good 
English. Some people think that to use good Eng- 
lish one must speak in a stiff and bookish way ; but 
this is a great mistake. Every language makes a 
distinction between the formal language of literature 
and the language of everyday use ; and it is perfectly 
possible to speak and write as unaffectedly and 
simply as we choose without ever using slang. 

Exercises. — i. Compare the following expressions. 
Which are the simplest ? 



Formal English. Everyday English. Vulgar English. 



A large quantity. 
A short distance. 
To hasten. 
To depart. 



A great deal. 
A little way. 
To make haste. 
To be off. 



In a difficult situation. Hard put to it. 



A whole lot. 
A little ways. 
To hustle. 
To get out. 
Up against it. 



2. Find simple everyday equivalents for the follow- 
ing :— 



THE WORD 357 

i. To postpone. 4. To arise. 7. To become accustomed. 

2. To yield. 5. To mimic. 8. To memorize, 

3. To assume. 6. To hurry. 9. To prize. 

10. To reconcile. 



3 . Make, in a notebook, a list of vulgar English and 
errors of spelling and grammar that you see on sign 
boards and in advertisements. Make another of ex- 
pressions used by people you know. 

4. Ask the teacher to appoint days for reading and 
discussing these lists. 

5. Re-write the selection in Lesson 26 without us- 
ing direct speech. What effect. 

Definition. — An Idiom is an expression peculiar to 
a language. 

Caution. — Observe that idioms make the style clear, simple, and 
interesting. Substitute idioms for slang. 

Lesson 29. Provincialisms. 

We have seen that to be "good English " words 
must not be vulgar and must not be out of 
fashion. There is one other requirement they 
must fulfill : they must be in national use. Of 
course everyone notices how oddly a foreigner ex- 
presses himself. And even among natives of a 
country, those from one section speak so differ- 
ently from those from another that a stranger can 
tell by their speech where they come from. Every 
large city or section of country has current expres- 



358 LESSONS IN COMPOSITION 

sions that are not commonly heard and sometimes 
not even understood in other places. For instance, 
in parts of the West school boys and girls say " to- 
night " when they mean the afternoon after school 
has been dismissed. Such expressions are called 
localisms or provincialisms. We find them in all 
dialect stories, where they give a vivid and accurate 
idea of the place which is the setting of the story. 
But unless they are used with a purpose such as 
this, they are not good English. 

Exercises. — i. Make a list of provincialisms you 
know. 

2. Bring to class as many dialect stories as you 
can : — 

i. Lowell's "Biglow Papers." 

2. Craddock's "In The Tennessee Mountains. 

3. Riley's "The Old Man and Jim." 

4. Page's "In Ole Virginia." 

5. Harris's "Uncle Remus." 

3. Show which words in these selections are vulgar- 
isms not peculiar to the region described. 

4. Plan a story of which the setting shall be a sec- 
Hon of country well known to you. 

5. Introduce into the dialogue the provincialisms ap- 
propriate to the place and characters. 

Caution. — To be in good use a word must be in Present use, in 
Reputable use, in National use. 



INDEX 



The numerals refer to pages. 



A. 

A, preposition, 217. 

A or an, articles, choice between, 

213 ; meaning of, 214-215, 
About to, 238. 

Absolute nominative, 165, 178. 
Abstract nouns, 145. 
Active voice, 46-47, 21S-219, 254- 

255. 

Address, nominative of, 166. 

Adjectives, denned, 114-115 ; as 
nouns, 169; classified, 207; singu- 
lar and plural, 207 ; comparison, 
208-210 ; use of comparative and 
superlative, 210-21 1 ; substitutes 
for, 211 ; parsing, 212 ; adjective 
or adverb, 275. 

Adjuncts, denned, 37. 

Adverbial objective, 166. 

Adverbs, defined, 118-119 ; nouns 
as, 166, 169,277; classified accord- 
ing to meaning, 272 ; according to 
use, 272-273 ; according to form, 
273-274 ; comparison, 274-275 ; 
adjective or adverb, 275; position, 
276 ; double negatives, 277 ; sub- 
stitutes, 277 ; how to parse, 277. 

Agent with passive verbs, 219. 

Although, verb with, 253. 

Analysis, defined, 74. 

Angles, 2. 

Anglo-Saxon, origin of name, 2 ; 
relation to modern English, 4. 

Antecedent, defined, 113. 

Anybody, number and gender of, 
184. 

Anybody else's, 161. 

Appositives, 71 ; clauses used as, 
86 ; case of, 168. 

Articles, defined, 117 ; origin of, 
213 ; choice between an or a, 
213 ; definite and indefinite dis- 
tinguished, 214 ; uses of the, 215 ; 



Articles, cont. — uses of a or an, 215 ; 

not every the or a an article, 217 ; 

how to parse, 217. 
As, relative, 201. 
Assertive sentences, defined, iS ; 

punctuation of, 19. 
At, in, distinguished, 281. 
Attribute complements, defined, 50— 

51 ; case of, 166, 178. 
Auxiliary verbs, defined, 226. 



Bare subject, 37. 

Be, copula, 39 ; complement of, 
when infinitive, 166, 178 ; inflec- 
tion for person, 227-228 ; as pro- 
gressive auxiliary, 234-236 ; forms 
in the subjunctive, 248 ; as pas- 
sive auxiliary, 255 ; conjugation, 
266-267. 

Biblical language, pronouns in, 174. 

British words, 5. 

But, relative, 201. 



Call, conjugation, 268-270. 

Can, 226, 266. 

Case, defined, 159; nominative, 
possessive, and objective, defined, 
159-160; form of possessive, 
160-161 ; uses of nominative, 
166 ; uses of objective, 166 ; use 
of the possessive, 166-167; m ex - 
clamations, 166, 178 ; double pos- 
sessive, 168 ; in apposition, 168 ; 
of personal pronouns, 177, 179 ; 
of interrogative pronouns, 189- 
190 ; of relative pronouns, 199, 
203. 

Causative verbs, 220-221. 

Changes in our language, 8-9 ; how 
they came about, 9 ; still going 
on, io-n. 



36o 



INDEX 



Clauses, defined, 63-64 ; as modi- 
fiers, 63-64; modifying, classified, 
68 ; as subjects, 84 ; as comple- 
ments, 85 ; as appositives, 86 ; 
subordinate, 97 ; relative, 193- 
194. 

Collective nouns, 144. 

Common gender, 146. 

Common nouns, 143-144. 

Coinpare to, compare with, distin- 
guished, 282. 

Comparison of adjectives, 208-210 ; 
of adverbs, 274-275. 

Complements, defined, 49 ; attri- 
bute, 50; object, 51; objective, 
53-54 ; with passive forms, 56 ; 
several with one verb, 57 ; phrases 
used as, 82 ; clauses used as, 85 ; 
case of, 166, 178. 

Complete predication, verbs of, 48. 

Complete subject, 37. 

Complex sentences, defined, 97. 

Compound personal pronouns, 185- 
187 ; relative pronouns, 202-203. 

Compound sentences, defined, 98 ; 
classified, 100 ; improper, 103. 

Compound subject, 25 ; predicate, 

25. 
Compound words, formation of, 

142 ; plural of, 154 ; possessive 

of, 161. 
Conditional sentences, 252-253. 
Confide in, confide to, distinguished, 

282. 
Conjugation, defined, 266 ; be, 256- 

267 ; call, 268-270. 
Conjunctions, defined, 124-125 ; 

position, 125, 284 ; distinguished 

from prepositions and relative 

pronouns, 284; classification, 284; 

correlative, 284 ; phrasal, 285 ; 

parsing, 285. 
Conjunctive adverbs, 273. 
Connecting words, 100, 284-285. 
Construction, defined, 163 ; of nouns, 

163-165 ; of pronouns, 177-179 ; 

of verbs, 231 ; of infinitives, 261- 

262 ; of participles, 264. 
Coordinate clauses, 98 ; conjunc- 
tions, 284. 
Copula, 39-40. 
Correlative conjunctions, 284-285. 



Danish words, 6. 

Declension, defined, 162 ; of nouns, 
162 ; of pronouns of the first per- 
son, 172 ; of pronouns of the sec- 
ond person, 174 ; of pronouns of 
the third person, 175 ; of interrog- 
ative pronouns, 189 ; of relative 
pronouns, 195. 

Definite article, 214-217. 

Demonstrative pronouns, 187-188. 

Dependent clause, defined, 97. 

Derivation, defined, 141. 

Descriptive adjectives, 207 ; rela- 
tive clause, 193-194. 

Diagrams, 74-76. 

Differ from, differ with, distin- 
guished, 282. 

Different ft vm, 282. 

Direct object, defined, 51 ; case of, 
166, 178. 

Direct questions, 191-192. 

Do, auxiliary, 236-237. 

Don't, doesn't, 230. 

Double possessive, 168 ; negatives, 
277. 

E. 

Each, number and gender of, 184. 

Editorial use of we, 172; our self , 186. 

Either, number and gender of, 184. 

Either — or, verbs with, 231 ; posi- 
tion of, 284-285. 

Elliptical sentences, defined, 105. 

Emphatic tense forms, 236-237. 

English, origin of name, 1-2 ; early 
home of, 2 ; spread of, 2-3 ; 
changes in, 4, 8-1 1 ; growth of, 5 ; 
good, defined, 11. 

Everybody, number and gender of, 
184. 

Exclamations, defined, 91 ; case of, 
166, 178. 

Exclamatory sentences, defined, 18. 

Expletive use of it, 28 ; of there, 29. 

F. 

Fall, fell, distinguished, 221. 

Feminine gender, defined, 146; 
forms, 147-148; in personifica- 
tion, 150-15 1 ; in pronouns, 175, 

182-183. 



INDEX 



361 



Finite verb, defined, 258. 

Foreign plurals, 156. 

Foreign words, proportion of in 
English, 8. 

Future perfect tense, 233-234 ; pro- 
gressive, 234-236. 

Future tense, defined, 232 ; forma- 
tion, 233 ; shall or will, 240-242 ; 
conjugation, 266 ff. 

G. 

Gender defined, 146; of nouns, 146- 
151 ; ways of denoting, 147-148 ; 
relation to pronouns, 149-150 ; 
in personification, 1 50-1 51 ; per- 
sonal pronouns, 175, 182-183 ; 
relative pronouns, 198. 

Generic article, 215. 

Going to, 238. 

Good English, defined, 11. 

Grammar defined, 11 ; uses of, 12 ; 
grammars old and new, 12; gram- 
mar vs. logic, 36. 

Grammatical and logical terms dis- 
tinguished, 37. 

H. 

Had, subjunctive auxiliary, 249. 

Have, transitive, 45 ; as auxiliary of 
perfect, 233-234. 

He, declined, 175 ; gender, 175,182- 
183 ; construction, 178. 

Her, declined, 175 ; gender, 175, 
182-183 ; construction as possess- 
ive, 177 ; as objective, 178. 

Hers, case, 175 ; gender, 175, 182- 
183 ; construction, 177. 

Herself, 185-187. 

Him, case, 175 ; gender, 175, 182- 
183 ; construction, 178. 

Himself, 185-187. 

His, case, 175 ; gender, 175, 182- 
183 ; construction, 177. 



/, classified, 171 ; declined, 172 ; 

how written, 172 ; use, 178. 
Idea, defined, 15. 
If, verbs with, 252-253. 
Imperative mood, defined, 247 ; 

use, 250-251 ; let, 264. 



Imperative sentences, defined, 18 ; 

punctuation of, 19 ; predicate in, 

21. 
Impersonal subject, 27, 176; object, 

176. 

Imported words, 7. 

Improper compound sentences, 103. 

In, at, distinguished, 281. 

Incomplete predication, verbs of, 
48-49. 

Indefinite pronouns, 203, 204 ; ar- 
ticles, 213-217. 

Independent elements, defined, 90; 
vocatives, 90 ; exclamations, 91 ; 
parenthetical, 92 ; pleonastic, 93 ; 
punctuation of, 93 ; nominative 
absolute, 165 ; case of, 166. 

Indicative mood, defined, 247 ; use, 
248 ; in conditional sentences, 
252-253. 

Indirect object, defined, 68-69 I 
as subject of passive verb, 70-71, 
255 ; case of, 166, 178. 

Indirect questions, 191-192. 

Infinitives, defined, 129, 258 ; form 
of, 129, 258 ; subject of, 164, 178 ; 
attribute complement of to be, 
166, 178 ; kinds, 258 ; with to, 
259 ; tenses, 259-261 ; construc- 
tions, 261-262. 

Inflection, defined, 140 ; of nouns, 
162 ; of personal pronouns, 172, 
174, 175 ; of demonstrative pro- 
nouns, 188 ; of interrogative pro- 
nouns, 189; of relative pronouns, 
195 ; of adjectives, 207, 209 ; of 
verbs, 266-270. 

11 -ing," words in, 133. 

Interjections, 127, 286. 

Interrogative adverbs, 273. 

Interrogative pronouns, defined, 
188-189 J declined, 189 ; distin- 
guished, 190; who or whom, 190 ; 
in indirect questions, 191-192. 

Interrogative sentences, defined, 18 ; 
punctuation of, 19 ; predicate in, 
21. 

Interrogative tense forms, 236- 

237. 
Intransitive verbs, 45-46, 218-221. 
Irregular comparison, 210. 
//, expletive, 28-29, I 7^ ) * 



362 



INDEX 



//, pronoun, classified, 1 71 ; de- 
clined, 175 ; gender, 175, 182-183; 
special uses, 176 ; constructions, 
178-179. 

Its, 175 ; history, 176. 

Itself, 185-187. 



Jutes, 2. 

L. 

Language, defined, 1 ; changes in, 

4, 8-11. 
Latin words found in Britain, 5 ; 

from books, 7. 
Laugh at, 220. 
Lay, lie, distinguished, 221. 
Let, 226, 264-265. 
Lie, lay, distinguished, 221. 
Like, 282. 
Limiting adjective j, 207 ; adverbs, 

273. 
Logic vs. grammar, 36. 

M. 

Majestic use of 7^,172 ; our self, 186. 

Masculine gender, defined, 146 ; 
forms, 147-148 ; in personifica- 
tion,. 150-15 1, 183 ; pronouns, 
175, 182-183. 

May, 226, 249, 265. 

Me, classified, 171 ; case, 172; con- 
structions, 178-179. 

Might, 249, 265. 

Mine, 172 ; use, 177. 

Missionary words, 6. 

Mixed verbs, 224-225. 

Mode, defined, 247 ; indicative, 248 ; 
subjunctive, 248-250; imperative, 
250-251 ; in conditional sentences, 
252-253. 

Modifiers, defined, 59-60; distin- 
guished from complements, 61 ; 
phrases and clauses used as, 63- 
64 ; themselves modified, 73, 

Must, 226, 261, 266. 

My, classified, I7 T ; case, 172 ; con- 
struction, 177. 

Myself, 185-187. 

N. 
Need, 261. 
Negative tense forms, 236-237. 



Negatives, double, 277. 

Neither, number and gender of, 184. 

Neither — nor, verbs with, 231 ; po- 
sition of, 285. 

Neuter gender, defined, 146 ; in 
pronouns, 175, 182-183. 

New conjugation, 224. 

No, adverb, 272. 

Nobody, number and gender of, 184. 

Nominative, defined, 159-160 ; ab- 
solute, 165 ; uses of, 166 ; of per- 
sonal pronouns, 178-179; of in- 
terrogative pronouns, 189-190 ; 
of relative pronouns, 199, 203. 

Nor, verbs with, 231. 

Norman-French words, 6. 

Notional verbs, 226. 

Nouns, defined, ill ; proper, 143 ; 
common, 143-144 ; collective, 144; 
abstract, 145 ; gender, 146-148 ; 
personified, 150 ; singular and 
plural, 152-154 ; two plurals, 155 ; 
foreign plurals, 156 ; case, 159- 
161; declension, 162; person, 162- 
163; constructions, 163-168; sub- 
stitutes for, 169 ; how to parse, 
169. 

Number, defined, 152 ; formation of 
plural, 152-154; two plurals, 155— 
156 ; divided usage, 157 ; per- 
sonal pronouns, 172, 174, 184; 
relative pronouns, 198 ; adjec- 
tives, 207 ; verbs, 227-230. 

Numeral adjectives, 207. 

O. 

Object, direct, 51 ; retained, 71 ; 
case of, 166, 178, 199. 

Object, indirect, defined, 68-69 ; in 
passive sentences, 70-71, 255; 
case of, 166, 178. 

Object of preposition, defined, 122 ; 
case of, 166, 178, 199 ; kinds, 279. 

Objective, adverbial, 166. 

Objective attribute complements, 
defined, 53-55 ; case of, 166. 

Objective case, defined, 160 ; sub- 
ject of infinitive, 164 ; uses of, 
166 ; of personal pronouns, 178- 
179 ; of interrogative pronouns, 
189, 190 ; of relative pronouns, 
199, 203. 



INDEX 



363 



Of, 278, 282. 

Old conjugation, 223. 

Old English, 3-4. 

Omission of subject, 21, 202, 251 ; 

of words, 105-106. 
Only, position of, 276. 
Or, verbs with, 231. 
Ought, 226, 261, 266. 
Our, ours, 172 ; use, 177. 
Our self, ourselves, 185-187. 
Own, 186. 



Parenthetical expressions, 92. 

Parsing, nouns, 169; pronouns, 205; 
adjectives, 212 ; articles, 217 ; 
verbs, 270 ; adverbs, 277 ; prep- 
ositions, 283 ; conjunctions, 285. 

Participles, defined, 131, 262; con- 
structions, 256, 264 ; form, 263. 

Parts of speech, distinguished, 111- 
142 ; summarized, 138. 

Parts of verb, principal, 225. 

Passive voice, 46-47, 218-219, 254- 
257 ; complements with, 56, 255. 

Past perfect tense, 233-234 ; pro- 
gressive, 234-236. 

Past tense, simple form, 223-225, 
232 ; defined, 232 ; progressive, 
234-236 ; emphatic, interrogative, 
and negative, 236-237 ; misused 
forms, 244-245 ; conjugation, 
266 ff. 

Peculiar verb-phrases, 264-266. 

Perfect tenses, 233-236 ; uses of the 
present perfect, 239 ; misused 
forms, 244-245, 

Person, of nouns, 162-163 ; of pro- 
nouns, 171, 198 ; of verbs, 227- 
231. 

Personal pronouns, defined, 171; 
first person, 172 ; second person, 
173-174; third person, 175-176; 
special uses of it, 176 ; uses of 
possessive forms, 177; uses of 
nominative forms, 178 ; uses of 
objective forms, 178-179; use of 
gender forms, 182-183 i use of 
number forms, 184; compound, 
185-187 ; as reflexives, 187. 

Personification, gender in, 1 50-151, 
183. 



Phrase, defined, 15 ; distinguished 
from sentence, 16 ; from clause, 
63-64 ; as modifier, 63-64 ; as 
subject, 81 ; as complement, 82 ; 
prepositional, 122, 280. 

Pleonasm, 93. 

Plural number, defined, 152 , ior- 

k mation of, 152-154 ; two plurals, 
155 ; foreign plurals, 156 ; di- 
vided usage, 157; pronouns, 172, 
174, 184; adjectives, 207 ; verbs, 
227-230. 

Poetical language, pronouns in, 174. 

Position of subject, 22 ; of adjec- 
tives, 115; of prepositions, 123, 
280; of conjunctions, 125, 284- 
285 ; of adverbs, 276-277. 

Positive degree, defined, 208. 

Possessive case, defined, 160; form 
of, 160-161,177; use of, 166-167, 
177 ; double, 168 ; in apposition, 
168 ; of personal pronouns, 177 ; 
of interrogative pronouns, 189 ; 
of relative pronouns, 199, 200. 

Predicate, defined, 21 ; in interroga- 
tive and imperative sentences, 21 ; 
position of, 22 ; compound, 25 ; 
distinguished from verb, 37. 

Predicate nominative, 166. 

Predication, verbs of complete and 
incomplete, 48-49. 

Prepositional phrase, defined, 122 ; 
classified, 280. 

Prepositions, defined, 122 ; object 
of, 122, 166, 178, 199, 279 ; clas- 
sified, 278-279 ; position, 280 ; as 
adverbs, 281 ; special uses of 
some, 281-282 ; parsing, 283. 

Present perfect tense, 233-234 ; 
progressive, 234-235 ; uses, 239 ; 
misused forms, 244-245. 

Present tense, simple, 232 ; pro- 
gressive, 234-235 ; emphatic, in- 
terrogative, and negative, 236- 
237 ; uses, 238-239 ; conjugation, 
266 ff. 

Principal parts of verb, 225. 

Progressive relative clause, 193- 
194. 

Progressive tenses, 234-236. 

Pronominal adjectives, 188, 18*9, 
204, 207. 



3^4 



INDEX 



Pronouns, defined, 1 13 ; antecedent, 
113 ; personal, 171-184 ; com- 
pound personal or reflexive, 185— 
187; demonstrative, 187-188; in- 
terrogative, 188-192 ; relative, 
192-202 ; compound relative, 
202-203; indefinite, 204; how to 
parse, 205. 

Proper nouns, defined, 143 ; plural 

of, 154. 

Punctuation, of sentences, 19 ; of 
appositives, 72; of independent 
elements, 93 ; of relative clauses, 
194. 

Q. 

Questions, direct and indirect, X91- 
192. 

H. 

Raise, rise, distinguished, 221. 

Reflexive pronouns, 185-187. 

Relative clauses, 193-194. 

Relative pronouns, defined, 192- 
193; distinguished, 194-196; gen- 
der, number, and person, 198 ; 
case, 199, 203; whose ox of which, 
200 ; as and but, 201 ; omitted, 
202 ; compound, 202-203 ; in- 
definite, 203. 

Retained object, 71. 

Rise, raise, distinguished, 221. 

Root, defined, 141. 

Root infinitive, 129, 258-262. 



Same as, same that, distinguished, 
201. 

Saxons, 2. 

Sentences, defined, 15 ; distin- 
guished from phrases, 16; assert- 
ive, interrogative, imperative, 
and exclamatory, 17-18, 21 ; how 
written, 19 ; assertive most com- 
mon, 19 ; origin of, 19 ; essential 
parts of, 21 ; impersonal, 28 ; 
types of, summarized, 57 ; parts 
of, summarized, 94 ; simple, de- 
fined, 96 ; complex, defined, 97 ; 
compound, defined, 98 ; com- 
pound, classified, 100 ; improper 
compound, 103 ; elliptical, 105 ; 
conditional, 252-253. y. 



Set, sit, distinguished, 221. * ^ 

Shall ox will, 233, 240-242. 

She, declined, 175 ; gender, 175, 

, 182-183 ; constructions, 178. 

Should, classification, 226 ; distin- 
guished from would, 242 '; sub- 
junctive, 249 ; tense of infinitive 
with, 261 ; meanings, 265. 

Sign of the infinitive, 259. 

Simple sentence, defined, 96. 

Simple subject, defined, 37. 

Singular number, defined, 152; di- 
vided usage, 157 ; personal pro- 
nouns, 172, 174, 184; adjectives, 
207 ; verbs, 227-230. 

Sit, set, distinguished, 221. 

Strong verbs, 223. 

Subject, defined, 21; omitted, 21, 
251; position of, 22 ; compound, 
24-25 ; impersonal, 27-28 ; sim- 
ple, distinguished from complete, 
37 ; of passive verb, 46-47, 21&- 
219, 255 ■; phrase used as, 81; 
clause used as, 84 ; of verb, 159- 
160, 166, 178, 199; of infinitive, 
164* 178. 

Subjunctive mode, defined, 247 ; 
form, 248-249 ; uses, 249-250 ; 
tenses, 250 ; in conditional sen- 
tences, 252-253. 

Subordinate clauses, 97; conjunc- 
tions, 284. 

Substantive, defined, 36-37. 

Substantive clauses, as subjects, 84 ; 
as complements, 85-86; as ap- 
positives, 86. 

Substantive phrases, as subjects, 81, 
280; as complements, 82. 

Substitutes for nouns, 169 ; for ad- 
jectives, 211; for adverbs, 277. 

Summary of sentence types, 57 ; of 
sentence structure, 94 ; of parts 
of speech, 138 ; of tense forms, 
237-238. 

Superlative degree, 209-210. : 



Tense, defined, 232; simple pres- 
ent and past, 232; perfect 

, tenses, 232-234 ; future, 233 ; 
progressive tenses, 234-236 ; 



INDEX 



365 



Tense, cont.— emphatic, interroga- 
tive, and negative, 236-237; sum- 
mary of tense forms, 237-238 ; 
uses of the simple present, 238- 
239 ; uses of the present perfect, 
239 ; shall or will, 240-242 ; mis- 
used forms, 244-245 ; tenses of 

' infinitive, 259-261 ; of participles, 
263. 

Than whom, 199. 

That, demonstrative, 187-188, 207 ■ 
relative, 195-196. 

The, adverb, 217. 

The, article, 213-215. 

Thee, case, 173-174 ; distinguished 
from you, 173-174; constructions, 
178-179. 

Their, theirs, case, 175 ; construc- 
tion, 177 ; as genderless plurals, 

184. 

Them, case, 175 ; constructions, 
178; as genderless plural, 
184. 

Themselves, 185-187. 

There, expletive, 29-30. 

These, 187-188, 207. 

They, declined, 175 ; construc- 
tions, 178 ; as genderless plural, 

184. 

Thine, case, 173-174; distinguished 
from yours, 173-174; construc- 
tion, 177. 

This, 187-188, 207. 

Those, 187-188, 207. 

Thou, declined, 173-174 ; distin- 
guished from you, 1 73-1 74 ; con- 
structions, 178. 

Though, verbs with, 253. 

Thought, a, defined, 15 

Thy, case, 173-174 ; distinguished 
from your, 173-174; construction, 
177. 

Thyself, 185-187. 

To before the root infinitive, 129, 
259. 

Transitive verbs, 45-46, 218-221. 



Unless, verbs with, 253. 
Us, 172 ; constructions, 178. 
Used to, 238. 



Verb-phrases, separated, 22, 44 ; 
defined, 41-42 ; interrogative, 
negative, and emphatic, 42-43, 
236-237 ; future, 233 ; per- 
fect, 233-234 ; progressive, 234- 
236 ; emphatic, interrogative, and 
negative, 236-237 ; subjunctive, 
249 ; peculiar, 264-265. 

Verbals, 128. 

Verbs, defined, 36-37; distinguished 
from predicate, 37 ; of action, 
being, or state, 38 ; transitive and 
intransitive, 45-46, 218-221 ; ac- 
tive and passive, 46-47, 218-219; 
254-257 ; of complete predica- 
tion, 48 ; of incomplete predica- 
tion, 48-49 ; infinitives, 128-129, 
257-262 ; participles, 128, 131, 
262-264 ; subject of, 163, 164, 
178, 199 ; strong and weak, 223- 
225 ; principal parts, 225 ; no- 
tional and auxiliary, 226 ; num- 
ber and person, 227-231 ; tense, 
232-245; mode, 247-253; peculiar 
verb-phrases, 264-266 ; conjuga- 
tion, 266-270; how to parse, 
270. 

Vocatives, defined, 90 ; case of, 166, 
178. 

Voice, 46-47, 218-219, 254-257. 



W. 

Wait for, wait on, 282. 
We, declined, 172 ; editorial or 
majestic, 172 ; constructions, 

178. 

Weak verbs, 223-224. 

What, interrogative, 188-190; rela- 
tive, 195-196, 199. 

Whatever, 202-203. 

Whatsoever, 202-203. 

Which, interrogative, 188-190; rel- 
ative, 195-196 ; of which or 
whose, 200. 

Whichever, 202-203. 

Who, interrogative, 1 88-190 ; rela- 
tive, 195-196, 198. 

Whoever, 202-203. 



366 



INDEX 



Whom, interrogative, io-ii, 189- 
190 ; relative, 195-196, 199. 

Whomever \ 203. 

Whose, interrogative, 188-189; rela- 
tive, 195-196, 200 • whose or of 
which, 200. 

Whose else, 161. 

Whosoever, 202-203. 

Will ox shall, 233, 240-242. 

Would, 226, 242, 249, 265. 



Y. 

Ye, classified, 173-174 ; case, 174; 
constructions, 174. 178-179. 

Yes, 272. 

You, classified, 171 ; case, 174, 179; 
construction, 174, 178-179 ; num- 
ber, 174, 229. 

Your, yours, classified, 171 ; case, 
174 ; construction, 177. 

Yourself, yourselves, 171, 185-187. 




SEP 6 1906 






' ■' - : ■■'■' : ' 




«««L 0F CONGRESS 







